Archive for the 'Jeff Baca' Tag Under 'UCLA' Category

UCLA hasn't had more than four players drafted in the NFL Draft in over a decade. But with this year's draft set to kick off on Thursday night, the Bruins could be set to have their most successful showing in the annual event in recent memory.

At least four UCLA players are expected to be drafted on Thursday with Datone Jones, Johnathan Franklin, Jeff Baca, and Joe Fauria all seemingly guaranteed to go some time in the draft's seven rounds. But if late-round fliers like punter Jeff Locke, who is considered by some to be the best at the position, or cornerbacks Aaron Hester and Sheldon Price were to sneak into the draft, Mora's first offseason could prove to be a successful one when it comes to churning out NFL talent.

Let's take a look at where each of UCLA's likely draftees stands heading into Thursday's first round:

DATONEJONES

Position: Defensive endMeasurables: 6-4, 283 poundsStrengths: Jones is a seriously athlete with a devastating burst off the line, and in his final season at UCLA, he greatly improved his hands and moves -- using martial arts -- to help him create better separation and become more of a havoc in the backfield. He's also got one of the best combinations of strength and speed in his class, finishing 10th in the 40-yard dash and fifth in bench press among defensive ends.Weaknesses: The biggest knock against Jones is that he's a tweener defensive end -- one that isn't quite fast enough and doesn't get quite enough separation to be in a 4-3 scheme, but isn't strong enough to take on double teams as a 3-4 end. Mora and defensive line coach Angus McClure have fervently evaluated his tweener-ness as an advantage, making him more versatile. I suppose it depends on how you evaluate him. He still could get in better shape and continue to improve technique-wise, depending on what position a team puts him in, but there are no glaring weaknesses in his game besides his lack of a true fit.Draft range: Anywhere from Indianapolis' No. 24 pick in the first round to somewhere early in the second.Most likely suitors: Green Bay, Indianapolis, New England, Denver, and San Francisco have also been mentioned. The Packers or 49ers may be the best bet at this point.

Senior right guard Jeff Baca, who UCLA coach Jim Mora was optimistic about earlier in the week, did not play Saturday afternoon against Oregon State at the Rose Bowl in the Pac-12 opener.

Senior Brett Downey (6-6, 305) started in Baca's place for the second game in a row, his third career start as a Bruin. The injury to Baca (Mission Viejo HS) has finally been disclosed to be a head injury, but not a concussion. He is the most-experienced lineman on the UCLA roster, with 35 starts, but has not played since the Nebraska game.

Junior guard Greg Capella, who has rotated at right guard with Downey in Baca's absence, was not the field pre-game when the linemen warmed up.

Bruins coach Jim Mora could not say if Baca would be able to return next Saturday in the Pac-12 Conference opener against Oregon State at the Rose Bowl. Senior Brett Downey started in Baca's place, and junior Greg Capella got reps there, too. Both have started before at UCLA.

"I can't comment on that," Mora said of a potential Baca return against the Beavers. "We don't know right now.

"But, if he came back like Sheldon (Price) did tonight, we'd be pretty happy."

UCLA had 567 yards of total offense, but was called for five offensive holding penalties against Houston, by Mora's count.

UCLA senior tailback Johnathan Franklin, the nation's leading rusher, has earned Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week honors for a second week in a row for his performance Saturday in the the Bruins' 36-30 upset of then-No. 17 Nebraska.

UCLA senior tailback Johnathan Franklin leads the nation in rushing. He earned a second consecutive Pac-12 Offensive Player of the Week for his efforts against Nebraka. (Photo by Stephen Dunn, Getty Images)

Franklin rushed for a career-best 217 yards on 26 carries against the Cornhuskers, and caught a 9-yard scoring swing pass from Brett Hundley with 2:13 left for the deciding points.

After two UCLA victories, Franklin has an NCAA-leading 431 yards rushing. He is the first Bruin to earn back-to-back conference honors since kicker Chris Sailer was Pac-10 Special Teams Player of the week in consecutive weeks in 1997.

Franklin runs behind a starting offensive line that has senior RG Jeff Baca leading a sophomore and three freshmen. So far, the underclassmen are more than making the grade.

UCLA coach Rick Neuheisel exploded after practice Wednesday, lashing at Bruin players out after what he described as a "disappointing practice."

"I can't be the only one who cares," Neuheisel screamed, standing in a circle of players and coaching staff. "It has to be us. It can't be me."

A practice marred by penalties and concentration lapses came just four days after the Bruins' 38-34 loss at Houston, the opening game in a season in which Neuheisel's job is clearly on the line.

"Practice started great and then we lost our concentration," Neuheisel said. "I don't know if it was because of the heat, we're tired, we're not eating during the day, but we were not as sharp as we needed to be and they need to know that we need better than that if we're going to be a good football team. That's a disappointing practice for a game week and I hope we come back tomorrow and have much better effort."

Associate head coach Bob Palcic has lost players to just about everything since he came to UCLA in 2008 to coach the offensive line: season-long injuries, academic ineligibility, suspensions, quitting, and a Mormon mission.

“I've seen it all since I've been here,” Palcic said. “It's made it extremely tough. All I can do is play with the cards I'm dealt.”

He lost one and gained another Tuesday. Senior center Kai Maiava has been suspended for Saturday's game against San Jose State for an undisclosed violation of team rules.

“I'm not real happy about the situation, but at the same time I'm not going to cry about it,” said Maiava, also missed all of last season with a broken ankle and UCLA's bowl game in 2009 because he was academically ineligible. “Everybody makes choices, everybody makes mistakes and you learn from them.”

Greg Capella, who started at guard this past Saturday and was the reserve center last season, replaces Maiava at center. Palcic's new hand also includes Jeff Baca, UCLA's second-most experienced lineman with 21 career starts.

Coach Rick Neuheisel said Monday quarterback Kevin Prince has “better than a 50-50 chance” of playing against San Jose State on Saturday. Prince suffered a concussion and AC sprain in his right shoulder on the same play against Houston.

X-rays were negative and an MRI revealed no damage in the shoulder.

Prince is expected to practice Tuesday, but to what extent remains to be seen. Neuheisel said Richard Brehaut will start if Prince is limited this week, but both quarterbacks will play if Prince is available.

“I don't see any reason not to keep them both in the mix,” Neuheisel said. “I don't think (sitting Prince) would be fair. He's desperate to play.”

Neuheisel said a healthy Prince still might start because he's "a little bit faster player at quarterback."

Veteran offensive lineman Jeff Baca said he is considering holding extra tutoring sessions for some of the younger linemen to get them up to speed. He might want to welcome some of the starters as well.

The Bruins have had a slow start to fall camp, consistently getting beat out by the defense. On Wednesday, there were issues with the quarterback-center exchange.

"We got to get better," Baca said. "We all do. We know that. We got to get better in our techniques, our positioning, our feet, everything."

Baca said he plans to be more vocal after being in the background for most of his year-long absence, which began with him being ruled academically ineligible at the beginning of last fall and prolonged by a broken foot at the beginning of this past spring.

The junior, whose 21 starts are the second most among current linemen, is hoping to return by late September.